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Wednesday, October 8, 2014

"Why the Tree?"

While working through the Clergy Training Program one of the
requirements made me stop to think “why?”.
The specific requirement was in Liturgy 1 in the CTP-Preliminary course. It
asks the student to “Discuss the significance of Fire and Water in ADF
liturgy.” Why isn’t the Tree listed in this requirement? Does it not play the
same significance as Fire and Water? The short answer is “No and Yes”. But…why?

In the Dedicants manual,
the most basic Druidic ritual tools are listed. “Druid ritual, at its simplest,
requires only a fire, a bowl of water, the Druid’s body, and the proper
offerings to the spirits” (Ár nDraíocht Féin 53) All other things
are, well, just beautiful dressings to please the senses of the Druid. But even
the bowl of water is not a requirement within ADF ritual. But…why? First, if we look at the Core Order
of Ritual, the only element that is listed as a “must” is Fire (3838). The reasoning
behind this is that “Druidry is a fire religion” (Dangler). Fire is a central
element in all cultures of humanity. It is the single most important elemental
“tool” within the Druidic cosmology. It spans the three realms and into the
three worlds. Rev. Dangler says it best “Kindled on the earth, the fire’s
flames leap into the atmosphere, and the pillar of smoke created supports the
celestial realm” (Dangler).
The heat radiates outward, upward, and down towards the Underworld. It is a
transformative force which carries out offerings to the Kindred. More
importantly Fire is a metaphor for the work which the Druid priest performs. It
calls the Kindred to the sacred place.It
transmutes the offerings into pure energy, which is makes these offerings
tangible to them, and does all this naturally as part of its very nature.

Water is no less prevalent within the
world’s symbolism. Water has always been seen as a force for change. It has the
ability break down walls and to reshape the land. Water was also seen as a
purifier to the land as well as the soul. It is also seen as the life blood of
the Earth. The waters fill the well, which the foundation of the Tree.But Water was also seen as a gateway, just as
Fire was, into the other realms of existence. Many times Water was seen as the entryway
into the Underworld, into the realm of the dead. Through the link of Water with
the Underworld it also gains the property of being a symbol of rebirth, or
reincarnation, which in turn becomes a symbol of the Well. (Corrigan)

Within ADF these two common symbols
can be seen as a part of the Three Hallows. Fire is the gateway and symbol of
the gods and the Upperworld. It is the receptacle for offerings to many of the
great Shining Ones. Water is seen in the form of the Well in ADF rituals. The
Well is connected with the Underworld and the Ancestors. Just as in ancient
times, the Fire and Well are significant in our ADF rituals as gateways to
reach the Kindred. As both are seen as existing separate from our own, “How do we reach them?” We do not
actually physically climb a tree as part of our rituals, though one surely
could much like ancient Pagans climbed mountains to reach temples for the gods
that resided in the Upperworld. Or we could decent into a cave to perform
rituals and offerings for those of the Underworld.

Then, why the Tree? Not all Indo-European
nations used the Tree as their central axis
mundi. Some, such as the Hellenics, used things such as mountains, caves,
and even the omphalos stone (also known as the navel stone of the world). What
function does the Tree serve in ADF Ritual? Though views
varied from culture to culture among the ancient Indo-Europeans on what the
importance of the Tree was, there was very little variation on the fact that
the Tree was held as sacred. From the Celtic Druids to the Priesthoods of the
Greeks, Trees were symbols of gifts from the gods and revered as the very
symbol of nature (Burkert 39). Today the Tree
holds a great many purposes within ADF. It is our symbol for the Nature
Spirits. Though in many cases there is no need for a gateway to reach Nature
Spirits, the Tree is still seen as the gateway to connect with them. Also the
sacred Tree symbolizes the path between the Three Realms. Its roots reach deep
into the Underworld while its branches reach towards the heavens giving us a
path to the Upper World. The trunk grows stoutly here in the Middle World, the
realm of mortals, Nature Spirits, and the earth deities. (Corrigan)

So we have a why, but why is it not required? In the Vedic
culture there is not much in the way of the axis
mundi…or is there? Perhaps it is their lack of a physical axis mundi
that gives us the answer. I believe that this has to do with the Druid him or
herself. As discussed, the Dedicants Manual states that the “… Druid’s body…”
is required. And that is the answer
to why not. The Tree serves as the
pathway that extends to the Upperworld and the Underworld. It is our portal to
travel to and from these realms. But when we look deeper at the meaning of the
Tree you see that we are the Tree. It
is through ourselves that we open this portal into the Otherworlds. The
external use of a Tree is not much more different than any other tool. It is
there as a focal point. In the end we open the portals of travel within
ourselves. Even our Two Power meditation walks us through visualizing ourselves as the Tree. Through this
guided imagery we open the pathways within ourselves to tap the powers of the
heavens and the powers of the waters deep within the world.

So the next time you
are planning or writing ritual, take a moment to think about your relevant use
of the Tree. Is it serving more than just a focal point for you to access the
Tree within?

Works Cited

3838, Member#. "An Overview of the Core Order of
Ritual." 2014. ADF.
<https://www.adf.org/members/training/dedicant-path/articles/coortutorial/overview.html>.

About Me

I am an ordained Neo-Pagan Druid Priest that follows the path of Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship (ADF). I am just a Druid gay man making my way through life, trying to find where my path will lead me and learning as much as I can along the way. As a published writer, I work to help educate people on the Druid path, Paganism in general, and magical practices.